If you’ve been waiting anxiously to catch your first glimpse of repression, lust and Eva Green in an all-girls boarding school drama Cracks, wait no more. The first poster and trailer for the new film were released this week. While it looks gorgeous, the tagline certainly raises an eyebrow: “Innocence isn’t lost. It’s taken.” Uh-oh. Eva stars as the popular, enigmatic Miss G, a teacher and diving coach at an elite English boarding school during the summer of 1934 who is adored by her students. Previous reports about the film has raised hopes a lesbian relationship, but the trailer suggests something more sinister.
The trailer brings to mind Picnic at Hanging Rock mixed with Loving Annabelle and a healthy dash of Heavenly Creatures and Lord of the Flies thrown in for good measure. So when Eva said that the story was “”little taboo” earlier, she really wasn’t kidding. Apparently, the group’s tight bond is broken or cracked, if you will, with the arrival of Spanish student, Fiamma. While all the other girls fawn over Miss G, Fiamma (María Valverde, seen below) is unfazed by her charms. [SPOLIER ALERT: Key plot point follows, so shoo!] AfterEllen.com reader blackcherries reports that those looking for a meaningful lesbian relationship will almost certainly be disappointed, and probably a little creeped out. After seeing the film she said:
This is what you get: the alleged student actually fears Eva. There isn’t a single moment where the student and Eva have consensual flirtations. The only true lesbianish moment (a disturbing scene) is when the student passes out from drunkeness and Eva takes her to her room and proceeds to kiss and undress her while she is still passed out. Eva says “We’ll travel the world together…don’t make me beg” as she continues to kiss her neck. The next morning the student says “Everyone must know what you did to me.”So, score one against positive portrayals of same-sex attraction. And another all-girls boarding school drama that ends badly? Have we learned nothing from The Children’s Hour and Lost and Delirious? Terrible child predators aside (and that’s a very big aside), Cracks has received praise for its storytelling and style. It also marks the directorial debut of Jordan Scott, daughter of Ridley Scott and niece of Tony Scott. The U.K. paper The Times said:
Scott ploughs ahead regardless to deliver her own startlingly unique take on repressed desires and distaff rivalries in a 1930s boarding school for girls….(The) performances that she has coaxed from her leading ladies suggest genuine greatness to come.So, what do you think? Will you still see Cracks, despite what appears to be a rather unsettling outcome?
